Hello and some questions - from an almost converted LF photographer in Sydney

[deldridg]

In my case, I've never made a picture I liked that could not have been made with large format (usually 4x5" or 6x12cm). It is much easier to control and prints are better. (I do not make large prints except when specifically asked to.)

Interesting point, though with 2 little kids I'm sure my reflexes wouldn't be quite up to capturing them awake with LF! Learning the control aspects will be quite a journey no doubt.
Cheers and thanks,
David

[deldridg]

Hello David,

congratulations, you're asking the right questions.

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As for your wife - if you are spending time in a darkroom instead of a dark bar, if you are lying awake dreaming of cameras instead of girls, she should be just fine.

Michael

Hi Michael,

some very valid points and they are appreciated. The inwards joy of doing something well for your own fulfilment rather than for an audience all the time is sadly a bit against the modern way IMHO. That's a whole philosophical discussion but one worth pondering. Also not becoming too hung up on the technicalities - this is a natural orientation for some of us but will be good to work on.

I read your note out to my wife last night and she agreed. She is very supportive and patient and we have a lovely collection of reasonably high quality images of our life together as a result - what more incentive??!!

Cheers and thanks,
David

[deldridg]

You might keep in mind the fact that having fewer LF photographs than you've had in 35mm and MF doesn't mean they'll necessarily be better photographs.

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(never used 35mm after I became serious about photography many years ago).

Hi Brian,

thanks for your reply and more good wisdom. Having realistic expectations will be a good start. As for 35mm, perhaps I will be the same once the kids have grown up. I'll be able to sell my D700 for about $20 by then...

Cheers,
David

[Jim Galli]

Quote Originally Posted by deldridg View Post
1. So, my first question is – how does large format photography satisfy you the most?

Relaxation and the creative process combined. Simple enjoyment. Large format, mostly 8X10, is a seperation from the utilitarianism of other "needed" photography. For me at least, the whole soft focus lens thing is a seperate little world (that almost nobody cares about) that computers cannot duplicate. And some of the work is truly lovely.

Quote Originally Posted by deldridg View Post
2. Secondly – given the amount of time and effort required to produce a single frame in LF, do you find that you value your work in different ways to the outputs of more conventional (and convenient) approaches (ie. 35mm)?

No, not much. The value is in the doing.

Quote Originally Posted by deldridg View Post
3. What are the main (perhaps “artistic”) lessons you have taken from LF which you have been able to apply elsewhere?

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Quote Originally Posted by deldridg View Post
4. What do you do with your images?

I print some. I enjoy making up the web pages and showing other folks that way.

Quote Originally Posted by deldridg View Post
5. Finally, what do your images do to you?

Some sense of satisfaction I suppose. Like a journey, it's fun to pause at a hilltop and look behind you at where you've been, and look ahead at all the possibilities.

[deldridg]

It doesn't really matter if your images are Weston quality or not -- the pleasure is in the process of working. Large Format is not a size, but a state of mind.

Hi Wilhelm,

thanks for responding. Back to having realistic expectations - over time no doubt the success rate will increase. However, what you're saying is that it's much more about getting there - I've been looking for exactly this!

Cheers,
David

[deldridg]

Yes.

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Learn to see the scene as a photograph, not as a scene. I'm still working on that one, but then I've only been at it for 35 years.

I print at the largest size my printer will accommodate, which is 16x20. That is barely big enough, or maybe not big enough, to really show off what large-format can do. But a 4x enlargement makes it much easier to get the desired results than a 17x enlargement.

The sense of endless detail is fundamentally important to me. I do not want that sense to be violated no matter how closely the print is inspected. Again, that's much easier to achieve at 4x than at 17x.

Disappoint me, usually. Fill me with joy, often enough to keep doing it. Generally, though, I give up early with a disappointing image--putting hours into it usually won't make it better. Occasionally, I'll come back to it and see something I missed earlier, but usually it's the other way around. And I've learned that the stuff that fills me with joy often leaves others cold. But my results are mine and mine alone, and I like being in control of the process, so that if it turns out well, I can actually claim some credit for it.

Rick "by the way, welcome" Denney

Hi Rick - thanks for the welcome and yet more good thoughts on the matter! Your 35 years comment reminds me about some advice once given to a young woodworker enquiring about how to make good dovetails. The response was something like: "Well sonny, if you work hard at it for 20 years, you'll be able to call yourself a beginner". Beyond the technical aspects, for me I've learnt precious little shooting digital over the last 10 years - my brain needs more time and intensity perhaps.

No doubt I'll be more naturally drawn to the detail too - post-processing will be quite something no doubt!

Cheers and thanks,
David

[JW Dewdney]

simple. tactility. the tactile nature of the resulting images... magic.

[welly]

Hello David from another Sydney resident!

1. So, my first question is – how does large format photography satisfy you the most? Is it in the sheer quality of the images you create, is it in the intricate manual process, is it the exclusiveness of the rare breed to which you belong, is it that you don’t get what you want any other way (ie. with MF/35mm etc.) or is it in the owning and using of such classic and beautiful equipment etc.? In other words, what is it most about large format photography that makes you go to all that trouble?

It's what made me become passionate again about photography. I was shooting digital for a number of years and felt like I was going through the same boring processes over and over again. I don't and never will aspire to shoot 1 million photographs in my life. If I capture more than a couple of photographs a week, that I'm happy with, I'm happy. Large format photography suits me. I like being part of a small community. I like the technical challenge that large format photography offers. I love how my photographs look. I recently printed my first 8x10 contact print and while the result isn't perfect (it's a little dark), I think it's a beautiful thing. I can now see what people refer to when they talk about the wonder and beauty of a contact print. It really is quite something and my contact print is terrible, in the grand scheme of things!

2. Secondly – given the amount of time and effort required to produce a single frame in LF, do you find that you value your work in different ways to the outputs of more conventional (and convenient) approaches (ie. 35mm)?

Absolutely. I have some digital images I've shot in the past which I love and am very proud of but the large format images I've captured that I'm really happy with, I'm very, very proud of them.

3. What are the main (perhaps “artistic”) lessons you have taken from LF which you have been able to apply elsewhere?

Slow down.

4. What do you do with your images? Do you feel the need to print them all at vast sizes so you can “walk into” the details, do you archive the negs/trannies and enjoy them in private with the light-box – marvelling at the detail with your 4x loupe, do you precision scan them and store them digitally (I think 4x5 @ 4,000dpi is about 320 Mpixels, yes?)?

I print the best. I usually scan at 800DPI and that still gives me a digital image that's big enough to print nicely at 8x10 and I've printed many of them at as big as 13x19. But now I'm more or less set up for 8x10 contact printing, I'll be doing more wet prints and I'm very excited about it!

5. Finally, what do your images do to you?

As another Sydney resident, give me a shout if you want to head out with a 4x5 or 8x10 camera sometime to give it a go!

Cheers,

Welly (Alastair)

ps. I'm running a large format blog aimed at the Australian community at http://largeformatphotography.com.au - take a look if you so desire!

[deldridg]

Welcome; do tell us what styles interest you if you get around to asking for camera/lens suggestions.

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If I didn't have to work for a living, I'd be inclined to spend more rainy days printing in the darkroom, and more decent days out shooting.

Hi JP,

thanks for your response - being drawn to owning lots of nice stuff is dangerous, not always fulfilling when you make the acquisition and can be confusing! Too many cameras, lenses, formats, film types etc.

So then, about my next camera...

With our family's natural outdoor orientation, we do get to enjoy some lovely places in solitude - perfect for taking some time for landscape shooting. I love beautiful big and perhaps oddly, dead trees. They have a story that goes back sometimes hundreds of years and so learning to capture them well and tell some of their story is of interest. 6x17 portrait style?? Yikes!

As for working for a living... I'd better get back to it! Very easily distracted...

Cheers and thanks,
David

[Lachlan 717]

ps. I'm running a large format blog aimed at the Australian community at http://largeformatphotography.com.au - take a look if you so desire!

Beat me to it!

(Another hello from another Schkip.)